


through the seas of the world (with you by my side)

by LizMikaelson



Series: standing by the ocean (waiting on you) [3]
Category: Legacies (TV 2018)
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-02 03:22:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,014
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19190920
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LizMikaelson/pseuds/LizMikaelson
Summary: hope, lizzie & a ring that encompasses the universe.





	through the seas of the world (with you by my side)

**Author's Note:**

> The credit for finding this gorgeous ring and coming up with this idea go to the amazingly creative [RadicalSaltz](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RadicalSaltz/pseuds/RadicalSaltz)

 

 

Rebekah is the one who receives the ring, a gift from a blushing young man with bright eyes and a hopeful smile who promises her the world.

 

She does not care for it.

 

Unattended, it lies on her dresser for three days.

 

Three weeks later, he has lost interest.

 

She steps over his body and that of his family, bloody behind them, tosses the ring into a nearby lake. It is gone.

  


But it sticks with Klaus, for some reason.

 

The image.

 

The carefully crafted piece.

 

The idea of holding the universe in his hand.

 

He likes it.

 

It is befitting, he thinks, of the power he deserves.

 

In Prague, he finds a goldsmith, pays handsomely for an intricate object created entirely as he wishes.

 

He spins it around sometimes, in his hand, the golden rings, intertwined, so harmless when they are laid into each other.

 

An entire universe encompassed when they are not.

  


Sometimes, in Mystic Falls, he takes it out.

 

It has lain almost forgotten for centuries and yet he knows exactly where to find it.

 

It would look good on Caroline, he thinks, a golden ring to match her hair, the entire universe for a woman who deserves it.

 

He doesn’t show it to her.

 

In fact, he never planned to show it to anyone.

 

There is something about it that feels a little too hidden, a little too secret.

 

But he’s spinning it around when his daughter comes in, seven years old, her life threatened by a power they’ve barely begun to grasp.

 

“What is that?” She asks and he shows her the ring and she holds it in her hands and reverently whispers “it’s beautiful”.

 

In the end, he does give it to Caroline, although not in the way he intended, once, maybe.

 

They’re walking through the streets of New Orleans on the last day of his life and he thinks of the ring that has been in his pocket for so many decades, a calming companion.

 

“Will you give this to Hope?” He asks. “When all of this is truly over?”

 

He doesn’t want it to be tainted with the pain of today, with the pain of this memory.

 

 

Lizzie loves the stars.

 

Knows everything about them, from their names, to the stories behind them, the astronomy and the history..

 

Hope can see the sky, out the window of her room, but she’s never appreciated it until Lizzie held her in her arms, whispers about the meaning of every single one of them.

 

When she is twenty-two, she, Rebekah and Freya basically tear the house down looking for it. Rebekah remembers it faintly, Freya has never seen it before.

 

They’ve basically given up when Rebekah disappears to make a phone call.

 

“A last ditch.effort,” she says, but doesn’t elaborate further.

  


Half an hour later, Caroline appears on the balcony next to her.

 

The ring looks exactly as Hope remembers, golden and intricate, woven together and absolutely gorgeous.

 

“Here you go,” Caroline says, and her smile is just a little pained. “Klaus asked me to hold onto this for you.”

 

Hope blushes as she takes the ring.

 

“He would have been so happy,” Caroline adds, “so am I.”

  
  


She wants it to be perfect, has it all planned out.

  
  


In the end, nothing goes as planned.

 

She’s on her way back from checking on some students in the East Wing when she finds Lizzie, sitting by the pool.

 

The school is quiet, summer has already begun and the students that are going home have already left.

 

Lizzie looks up at her, smiles, bright and easy, indicates the spot next to her.

 

“I thought you’d be in bed,” Hope says and Lizzie shakes her head.

 

“It’s too warm to sleep.”

 

“At least lie down,” Hope suggests, knows that her girlfriend has been up all day, shepherding the students and talking to parents.

 

Lizzie sighs softly before shifting, her head on Hope’s lap, and Hope runs her fingers through blonde hair, watches as Lizzie’s eyes drift shut and her breathing relaxes.

 

When she opens them again, the sun has set fully and they are engulfed in darkness.

 

Lizzie blinks at her, sleepy and tired, and Hope finds herself smiling.

 

It’s a beautiful night, the sweltering heat of the day slowly subsiding, the night sky clear above them.

 

“You can see the Lyra tonight,” Lizzie says, points out the constellation until Hope can see it. “Orpheus went into the depths of the underworld, but he didn’t get her back.”

 

Hope knows the story of course, recognises the quiet melancholy in Lizzie’s voice as she sits up a little, traces Hope’s face with careful fingers.

 

They’ll never quite be okay, she knows that.

 

The memories of the darkness Hope jumped into.

 

The shadows of the darkness Lizzie walked into.

 

But both of them left, together.

 

And Lizzie did not look back.

 

The ring, still in her pocket, feels far too heavy, suddenly, and she pulls it out, holds it in her hand as the seconds pass, Lizzie talking about the Vega, the Lyra’s brightest star.

 

“Marry me,” she says.

 

Lizzie gasps and sits up, stares at Hope and stares at the ring she is holding out.

 

Hope twists the circles in her palm until it is the entire universe, starts talking and explains that about the ring, an entire universe, just like Lizzie is her entire universe, that she deserves all the world, that she loves her and loves her, will always love, for forever and for their shared eternity.  

 

Lizzie interrupts her ramblings with kisses her.

 

“That’s not an answer,” Hope mutters when she pulls away.

 

“Yes,” Lizzie whispers against her lips, “yes, yes, yes.” Hope slips the ring onto her finger and Lizzie kisses her, again and again.

 

Minutes pass until Lizzie breaks the kiss, moves to stand up.

 

Hope watches her, watches as she pulls her shirt over her head, watches as her pants drop to the ground.

 

And when Lizzie smiles at her from the other end of the pool, asks “catch me”, she gets up, follows her.

 


End file.
